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XII: Vive la France
Mizo I stood. I stood over the corpse of my longtime adversary, Dimitri Tatou. With him gone, a major obstacle to the Zoni was finally eradicated. Dimitri and his amateur soldiers stood no chance against our elite, organized unit. Even if they had outnumbered us, we would have won. And now, we were only seconds away from conquering France. “Sir, our scouts have just given us a report. There are no Liberation Front survivors within 100 miles of the city. I believe it is safe to say that they have been wiped out,” Ozone said calmly. “Great work Ozone. Your work never ceases to amaze me,” I lauded. “I can’t take all the credit. Much of my strategy was formed off of the information I received from Lioz, so he should get some praise as well,” Ozone said. That was very typical of Ozone. He was never willing to take all the credit for an accomplishment. Just then, Lioz approached us. “I heard my name mentioned. Is assistance required?” “No Lioz. We were just admiring the work done by the three of us. With my leadership, Ozone’s military prowess, and your intelligence, there is nothing we can’t do,” I praised. “That’s all well and good, but there’s still the issue of the Avatar. She got away,” Ozone hissed. Lioz smirked. “You won’t have to worry about that. We found the warp gate they used to escape the city, and we hacked it for the coordinates. Right now, Xena, and her three friends, are in Washington D.C.” “Damn it. That presents an unwanted obstacle,” I cursed. Ozone shrugged. “I don’t see what the problem is. It’s just four people. What harm could they do?” “Four people who know far too much about us. Most of the world thinks we are a benevolent group. We cannot allow the Avatar to besmirch our reputation. If we lose our supporters, then we could lose everything we’ve worked so hard to achieve,” I warned. “I shall dig up as much data on those four as possible. I’ll learn their strengths, their weaknesses, their favorite fighting styles, everything,” Lioz said. “I won’t allow them to gain another advantage over us.” “What do you think we should do about this Mizo?” Ozone asked. I put my hand to my chin. “The best way to deal with this, is to continue with our original plan. D.C. is our next target anyway, so we can kill two birds with the same stone. Once we get to D.C., we need to show the people why they don’t need an Avatar.” “Brilliant idea sir. There have already been plenty of anti-avatar riots and protests in the United States. I’m sure that it wouldn’t be too hard to gain support against her,” Lioz added. I smiled at my comrades. What we accomplished today was certainly a major victory, but what we were about to do was infinitely better. It was time to take over the States. Drake We made it to Washington D.C. safely, but that was about the only good thing that happened to us that day. We had lost France to the Zoni, and the Liberation Front was no more. Needless to say, everyone’s spirits were very down. Xena looked the worst out of all of us. “I just can’t believe I let this happen again. I couldn’t save Seattle from the robots, and now, I couldn’t save Paris from the Zoni. What if I can’t protect D.C.? I’m such a failure,” she lamented. I tried to comfort her, but Amber pushed me out of the way, and she held her. “Xena, you’re not a failure. There was nothing you could have done to save Paris. The Zoni knew our every move. But here, we have a chance, and we will win. Don’t give up, okay honey?” she said warmly. Xena, wiping away tears, smiled at her, and she held Amber tightly. I shot Amber a confused look. It really irritated me when she took moments like these away from me and Xena. She seems to think that it’s a competition of who can get more affection from Xena, but I don’t think of it that way. I just want her to be happy. “Look, if you two lovers are done, I kinda need some medical attention,” Marc hissed. Amber walked over to Marc, and she put her hands on his injured shoulder. “Sorry for not doing this earlier Marc. I have limited healing powers thanks to that program that gave me its abilities. It won’t fix you completely, but you’ll be able to use that arm again.” After she removed her hands, Marc moved his right arm around. “Ah, that’s much better than before. Thanks Amber, I owe you one.” “Really, it’s fine,” Amber said. “Well, if we’re going to be here for a while, then I think now is a good time to teach Marc and I how to fight,” I suggested. “We both got our asses handed to us back in Paris. If we’re going to defeat the Zoni, then we need to know how to defend ourselves.” Xena and Amber looked at each other, and then they started giggling like little school girls. I blushed from embarrassment. Amber Xena wanted to train with Drake, so I was stuck with Marc. I dreaded having to deal with his flirting, but it was important for him to know how to defend himself, so I decided to suck it up. We found an open space within a walking distance of D.C. It was the perfect spot for movement. “Ok Marc, let’s start with the basics. When you’re in a fight, the goal is to be as loose as possible. When you’re loose, your reaction time is quicker, and your hits will be stronger,” I instructed. “Right, I got it,” Marc replied eagerly. I smirked. “Okay then. Keeping that in mind, fight me right now. And don’t hold back.” “I can’t do that. I’ve never hit a girl before,” Marc sighed. “Oh don’t start with the gentleman bullshit. In battle, there are no boundaries. You either win or you lose,” I scolded. “Well unlike you, I don’t enjoy hurting people okay? This isn’t easy for me. None of this has been!” Marc snapped. “Ever since day 1, you’ve treated me like I’m nobody. Do you realize how that feels? I love you Amber, and I don’t know how to express it, but that doesn’t mean that you have to tear me down for it.” I was stunned. “Amber, listen to me. I don’t want to drag the group down, but it’s hard because of all this guilt. I feel guilty for loving you, I feel guilty for not helping out the other members of the LF, and I really feel guilty for not helping out my sister when I should have. I’ve let so many people down so far, and I won’t let that happen again. Now, come at me with everything you’ve got!” Marc said passionately. Reluctantly, I attacked him with a variety of attacks. He tried his best to keep his hands up, but my movements were too quick for him to anticipate. After I landed a roundhouse kick to his face, he fell down. But, he immediately got back up. “No matter what, don’t stop. This will only end when one of us is out cold,” he challenged. I liked seeing this side of Marc. All this time, I thought he was just a bumbling idiot, but there was more to him then what met the eye. Perhaps I misjudged him a little. Xena Drake was a quick learner. We had just finished our three hour long training session, and he already picked up a lot of great fighting techniques. Both of us, being completely exhausted, collapsed on the grass, trying to catch our breath. “You’re a great fighter Drake. You learned everything so quickly,” I praised. Drake waved his arm. “I’m just lucky to have a great teacher.” I blushed, but I turned away so he couldn’t see it. Unfortunately, I turned away too late. “You look like you’re about to celebrate Christmas when you blush,” Drake teased. I knew what he meant. Red face, plus green hair. “Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want,” I replied. We sat in silence for a few minutes. I always loved it when these moments happened. I felt like we were thinking the same thoughts. As usual, Drake broke the silence. “Xena, I hate to ask this but, what do you think will happen now that the Zoni have France?” Drake asked. I pondered for a bit. “I really don’t know. I guess I’ll have a better idea after I watch the news tomorrow. I just wish I knew more about the Zoni.” “I see. There’s also something else I wanted to ask you. It’s a little personal.” “Go ahead.” “Is Amber your girlfriend?” My face turned very red. I was so embarrassed. The worst part was, Drake wasn’t the first person to ask me that. During the Human-Robot War, various people thought Amber and I were in a relationship. In retrospect, I really couldn’t blame them. Amber and I were very close, and she was the only female friend I had. I think we may have kissed once or twice. But, I wasn’t sure if I was in love with her. “I don’t think so. I mean, I don’t think of her as my girlfriend. Uhh, she’s a great person, and I love her to death, but, not like that,” I stuttered. “Okay, I believe you,” Drake chuckled. Drake may have been teasing, but he got me thinking. What if Amber didn’t see me as a friend? What if she really was in love with me? It would explain why she was so hostile to Drake. Hopefully, these thoughts weren’t true. I wouldn’t know what to do if they were. Next time on 13th Redux... Category:Chapters